Richard Clarke: Bush Admin Negligent in Antiterrorism

[Giancarlo]

The truth is not coming out of your mouth. And you should be afraid, very afraid, B.S machine.

[Docfeelgood]

Your really good for speakin out your azz.
Guess your mouth knows better.

[Docfeelgood]

Hey why don't we kiss and make up?


Lets start over, shall we?

Better terms?

[DinoDoc]

Originally posted by notyoueither
Can you post the text? Can't get the link without subscribing.

For Immediate Release

March 21, 2004

Setting the Record Straight

Myth: The President didn't treat al Qaeda as a serious threat before September 11.

The Facts:

· The President recognized the threat posed by al Qaeda, and immediately after taking office the White House began work on a comprehensive new strategy to eliminate al Qaeda.

· The President specifically told Dr. Rice that he was "tired of swatting flies" and wanted to go on the offense against al Qaeda, rather than simply waiting to respond.

· The President's national security team worked aggressively and rapidly to develop a new strategy that would employ all elements of our national power: military, intelligence, diplomatic actions, and financial pressure. The new strategy called for military options to attack al Qaeda and Taliban leadership, command-and-control, ground forces, and other targets. It focused on the crucial link between al Qaeda and the Taliban, recognizing that the two were ultimately inseparable. We would attempt to compel the Taliban to stop giving al Qaeda sanctuary, and if it refused, we would have sufficient military options to remove the Taliban regime. Our strategy focused on the crucial role of Pakistan in this effort and the need to get Pakistan to stop its support to the Taliban, understanding the implications for the stability of Pakistan and its relations with India.

· NSC Deputies, the second-ranking officials in the NSC departments, met frequently between March and September 2001 to decide the many complex issues involved in the development of the comprehensive strategy against al Qaeda, and also oversaw the work by their staffs on these issues. Contrary to Dick Clarke's assertion that he was not able to brief senior officials until April 30, the first Deputies-level meeting on al Qaeda was held on March 7, and Dick Clarke conducted the briefing. Deputies agreed that a National Security Policy Directive on al Qaeda should be prepared.

· Although the issues involved were complex, the President's team completed the new strategy in less than six months and had the strategy ready to go to the President on September 4.

Myth: We didn't listen to Dick Clarke. Clarke had proposed ideas against al Qaeda, such as launching missiles from an armed Predator or modestly increasing assistance to the Northern Alliance in Afghanistan, that would have prevented 9-11 but these plans were not acted upon.

The Facts:

· At Dr. Rice's request, in January 2001, Dick Clarke presented her with a number of ideas to address the al Qaeda threat. The Administration acted upon the ideas that made sense. For example, the Administration approved increased assistance to Uzbekistan, a frontline state in opposing al Qaeda, and pushed hard to develop a weaponized Predator unmanned aerial vehicle.

· Although the Administration pushed development of the Predator, the Predator was not available to be used against bin-Ladin before September 11. Extensive work and testing was required to develop a warhead that would be effective, and NSC Deputies were told that testing would not be completed until August at the earliest. Even if the Predator had been available, the Intelligence Community never presented senior officials with specific intelligence regarding bin Ladin's location. At the same time, the Intelligence Community also told senior Administration officials that killing bin Ladin would not destroy al Qaeda. Moreover, we know now that, according to the FBI, 16 of the 19 hijackers were in the United States by June 2001; there is no reason to believe that killing bin Ladin would have affected their plan.

· Increasing assistance to the Northern Alliance also would not have prevented 9-11. By 2001, the Northern Alliance had been beaten down by military defeats and controlled less than 10 percent of Afghanistan. Providing a small additional amount of money to the Northern Alliance, as Clarke suggested, would not have enabled them to sweep across Afghanistan and defeat the Taliban. Moreover, providing such assistance likely would have damaged U.S. efforts later to reach out to other tribes in Afghanistan. NSC Deputies developed a more comprehensive strategy to eliminate al Qaeda that included assisting tribal groups throughout the country, as well as providing significantly more assistance to the Northern Alliance. But such assistance, even if provided earlier, would not have disrupted the 9-11 hijackers, who were not in Afghanistan, but were assembling in the United States.

· Although Clarke suggested some ideas to address al Qaeda outside the United States, he did not advocate to the Bush Administration any plan of action to address al Qaeda's presence in the United States, such as the need to improve collection of intelligence information by the FBI and to reverse longstanding statutory restrictions and DoJ policies limiting sharing of domestic intelligence on terrorism between the CIA and FBI; or to take actions to root out al Qaeda cells in the United States and to make our borders less porous for al Qaeda and other terrorists. He also never made us aware of any intelligence assessments from the preceding Administration concerning the use of aircraft as weapons to attack the homeland.

Myth: Dick Clarke was never allowed to brief the President on the threat posed by al Qaeda.

The Facts:

· Dick Clarke was the President's principal counterterrorism expert. If he had asked to brief the President on any counterterrorism issue, Clarke could have done so. He never did.

· Instead, the only time Dick Clarke asked to brief the President was during the height of the terrorism threat spike in June 2001, when he asked to brief the President ? not on al Qaeda, but on cybersecurity. He did so.

Myth: The Administration did not treat the intelligence chatter about an imminent attack during the spring and summer of 2001 with sufficient urgency; Principals did not "go to battle stations."

The Facts:

· The President and senior Administration officials were very concerned about the threat spike during the spring and summer of 2001

· The President and his NSC Principals received intelligence reports about the intelligence "chatter" during this period, but none of the intelligence was specific as to time, place, or manner, and was focused overseas.

· The Government's interagency counterterrorism crisis management forum (the Counterterrorism Security Group, or "CSG"), chaired by Dick Clarke, met regularly, often daily, during the high threat period. The CSG was at "battle stations." If Dick Clarke or other members of this group needed anything, they had immediate and daily access to their superiors. Dick Clarke never suggested that the President or the Principals needed to intervene to take any immediate action on these threats.

· Dick did not ask to brief the President on the al Qaeda threat during this period ? or at any other time. Instead, in the middle of the al Qaeda threat period, Clarke asked to brief the President, but on cybersecurity, not al-Qaida. He did so.

· Formal, in-person meetings among Principals were not required; unlike President Clinton, President Bush met every morning with his Director of Central Intelligence, George Tenet for an intelligence briefing. Secretary Card, Dr. Rice, and the Vice President sat in on the briefings. The threat posed by al Qaeda and the need for a response was discussed regularly at these high-level meetings, as well as in frequent, regular discussions between Dr. Rice and Tenet. Dr. Rice and Secretaries Powell and Rumsfeld also have a 7:15 am phone call every morning and talk frequently during the day, and in this period they discussed actions to respond to the threat during these calls.

· Although the threats were focused overseas, in July, Dr. Rice specifically directed Dick Clarke and his CSG to meet to consider possible threats to the homeland and to coordinate actions by domestic agencies, including the FAA, FBI, Secret Service, Customs, Coast Guard, and Immigration, to increase security and surveillance. During the Summer of 2001, FAA and FBI issued numerous terrorist threat warnings, including a warning about "the potential for a terrorist operation, such as an airline hijacking to free terrorists incarcerated in the United States." Security at federal buildings also were reviewed for vulnerabilities. Overseas, we also disrupted terrorist cells worldwide, significantly increased security at our embassies, and directed US Naval vessels to leave high-risk ports in the Middle East and heighten security at military facilities.

Myth: After the 9/11 attacks, the President ignored the evidence and tried to pin responsibility for 9/11 on Iraq.

The Facts:

· The President sought to determine who was responsible for the 9-11 attacks. Given Iraq's past support of terror, including an attempt by Iraqi intelligence to kill a former President, it would have been irresponsible not to ask if Iraq had any involvement in the attack.

· When the President and his senior advisers met at Camp David on September 15-16, 2001, to plan a response to September 11, the DCI told the President that there was no evidence that Iraq was responsible for the attack. The President then advised his NSC Principals on September 17 that Iraq was not on the agenda, and that the initial US response to 9/11 would be to target al Qaeda and Taliban in Afghanistan.

· Dick Clarke did prepare a memo for the President regarding links between Iraq and 9/11. He sent this memo to Dr. Rice on September 18, after the President, based on the advice of his DCI that that there was no evidence that Iraq was responsible for the attack, had decided that Iraq would not be a target in our military response for 9/11. Because the President had already made this decision, Steve Hadley returned the memo to Dick Clarke on September 25 asking Clarke to "please update and resubmit," to add any new information that might have appeared. Clarke indicated there was none. So when Clarke sent the memo forward again on September 25, Dr. Rice returned it, not because she did not want the President to read the answer set out in the memo, but because the President had already been provided the answer and had already acted based on it.

Myth: The Administration didn't act on Dick Clarke's advice to hold a Cabinet meeting early in the Administration to discuss the threat posed by al Qaeda.

The Facts:

· NSC Principals did not need to have a formal meeting to discuss the threat because the threat was already well understood by the Principals and because Dr. Rice had already asked that a comprehensive new strategy to eliminate al Qaeda be prepared.

· In addition, unlike President Clinton, President Bush met every morning with his Director of Central Intelligence, George Tenet, for an intelligence briefing. Secretary Card, Dr. Rice, and the Vice President sat in on the briefings. The threat posed by al Qaeda and the need for a response was discussed regularly at these high-level meetings, as well as in frequent, regular discussions between Dr. Rice and Tenet.

· Moreover, NSC Deputies, the second-ranking officials in the NSC departments, met frequently between March and September 2001 to decide the many complex issues involved in the development of the comprehensive strategy against al Qaeda, and also oversaw the work by their staffs on these issues. Contrary to Dick Clarke's assertion that he did not brief senior officials until April 30, the first meeting of Deputies was held on March 7, and Dick Clarke briefed the group on al Qaeda. Deputies agreed that a National Security Policy Directive on al Qaeda should be prepared.

Myth: Before 9/11 the Administration was focused on Iraq rather than on al Qaeda.

The Facts:

· The President and the Administration were legitimately concerned about the threat posed by Iraq. Iraq had sponsored terrorism, attacked its neighbors, used chemical weapons, violated 16 U.N. Security Council Resolutions, kicked out UN weapons inspectors, was circumventing sanctions to acquire billions of dollars to fund its illegal activities, and continued to try to shoot down U.S. and U.K aircraft patrolling the no-fly-zones.

· But the Administration completed a comprehensive strategy to eliminate al Qaeda well before it completed a strategy to address Iraq. In fact, the directive to eliminate al Qaeda, approved by the Principals on September 4, 2001, was President Bush's first major foreign policy directive.

Myth: Dick Clarke was demoted and "stripped of his Cabinet rank" by President Bush.

The Facts:

· Dick Clarke never had Cabinet rank.

· Dick Clarke continued, in the Bush Administration, to be the National Coordinator for Counterterrorism and the President's principal counterterrorism expert. He was expected to organize and attend all meetings of Principals and Deputies on terrorism. And he did.

· During the Clinton Administration, Dick Clarke regularly briefed President Clinton because President Clinton did not meet regularly with his DCI. Since the beginning of his Administration, President Bush has met daily with his DCI for his intelligence briefing. President Bush believes he should get his intelligence principally not from White House staff, but from those directly responsible for US intelligence

[Oncle Boris]

The President specifically told Dr. Rice that he was "tired of swatting flies" and wanted to go on the offense against al Qaeda, rather than simply waiting to respond.

Yeah, take Dr. Rice's word for it! Uncle Ben is endorsing her already!

[Docfeelgood]

Hey why don't we kiss and make up?

Guess not

[notyoueither]

Instead, the only time Dick Clarke asked to brief the President was during the height of the terrorism threat spike in June 2001, when he asked to brief the President not on al Qaeda, but on cybersecurity. He did so.

If that can be demonstrated to be true, the guy is toast.

I would imagine there are records of such things.

[The Mad Monk]

From ABCNews, way back when:

Richard Clarke
Office of Cyber Security Director



Oct. 9 — Richard A. Clarke was appointed today by President Bush to be the Special Adviser for Cyberspace Security within the National Security Council.

He will be charged with protecting the nation's telecommunications and information technology infrastructure against a terrorist attack.
Experts have warned that hackers and terrorists could try and cripple systems — computer networks that monitor a city's water supply or air traffic, for example — to create further chaos.

Should such a crisis take place in cyberspace, Clarke would coordinate efforts with the private and commercial sectors to bring the affected systems back to normal.

Similar to his previous position as National Coordinator for Security, Infrastructure Protection, and Counter-terrorism, Clarke will remain on the president's National Security Council. In his new role, he report to both National Security Advisory Condoleezza Rice and newly appointed Homeland Security Director Tom Ridge.

Clarke is a career member of the federal government's Senior Executive Service, having started there in 1973 in the Office of the Secretary of Defense.

Since May 1998, Clarke was the first National Coordinator for Security, Infrastructure Protection, and Counter-terrorism.

In that position, he led U.S. government efforts on cyber-security — and on counter-terrorism, continuity of government operations, domestic preparedness for weapons of mass destruction, and international organized crime.

In the role of counter-terrorism czar, he will be replaced by retired four-star Gen. Wayne A. Downing. Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Ridge will serve above Clarke and Downing in the new role as the president's Homeland Security adviser.

Clarke became well-known for his use of the phrase "electronic Pearl Harbor," when predicting the implications of a cyber-terrorist attack. Critics say he overstates the threat, perhaps as a tactic to win greater attention, support and resources for government computer defense capabilities.

In the elder Bush's administration, Clarke was the Assistant Secretary of State for Politico-Military Affairs. In that capacity, he coordinated State Department support of Desert Storm and led efforts to create a post-war security architecture. Clarke was appointed to the National Security Council staff in 1992.

In the Reagan administration, Clarke was Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Intelligence.

Clarke is a graduate of Boston Latin School, the University of Pennsylvania, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Emphasis added.

http://abcnews.go.com/sections/polit...rs_clarke.html

[Giancarlo]

Originally posted by Docfeelgood




Guess not

I had some errands to run so I didn't see your message.

[Agathon]

Has anyone considered that it might be time to bury partisanship and vote for Kerry. I mean, even if you are a middle of the road Republican it would better to wait for four years to return to a more sensible sort of candidate, like Bush pere.

Bush and his cronies are starting to smell so bad that it is really horrifying that they might win the election. It's not the specifics of his policies so much as it is the general contempt for checks and balances and willingness to let ideology trump evidence. That is simply bad for democracy, whatever your persuasion.

[The Mad Monk]

Oh, here's a fun one -- note the date.

Rantings

Richard Clarke's 'digital Pearl Harbor'
by Rob Rosenberger -- 12/10/00

VMYTHS.COM CELEBRATES AN anniversary today. Its roots as a website go back to 10 December 1995 when the "Computer Virus Myths home page" made its debut. Its name may have changed but Vmyths.com remains true to its original goal -- the eradication of virus hysteria. As Cecil Adams would say, "it's taking longer than we thought" to win the war.

Another high-ranking official cheapened the memory of Pearl Harbor just to stir up computer security hysteria.
And speaking of war ... this week also marked the 59th anniversary of Pearl Harbor Day. Sadly, another high-ranking official cheapened the memory of Pearl Harbor in order to stir up computer security hysteria.

President Clinton appointed Richard Clarke to the National Security Council as his coordinator for security, infrastructure protection, and counter-terrorism. Clarke developed a serious fetish for computer security hysteria -- think of him as the Internet's Joe McCarthy -- and he loves making comparisons to Pearl Harbor.

History records a loss of 2,341 servicemen, 54 civilians, and most of our Pacific fleet at Pearl Harbor. America declared war on Japan the very next day; the two bitter enemies fought for almost four years until America dropped two atomic bombs. Pearl Harbor literally spawned the mass imprisonment of U.S. citizens solely because of their heritage.

No joke: Clarke wants you to believe a computer virus or a hacker will someday inflict equivalent damage. Reuters reporter Scott Hillis filed the following newswire:

The United States is vulnerable to sneak attacks in cyberspace that could amount to a "digital Pearl Harbor," a top government official warned on Friday. Richard Clarke, who coordinates security and infrastructure protection at the White House National Security Council, said the next U.S. president must shield the economy from foreign cyber warriors.
"Several nations ... have created information warfare squadrons, battalions. These organizations are developing techniques to bring down computer networks," Clarke told an Internet security conference. Clarke was speaking 59 years and a day after the bombing by Japanese planes of U.S. ships at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, at the beginning of the Second World War. "The organizations, some of them, are doing reconnaissance today on our networks, mapping them, looking for vulnerabilities. They may even be doing more than that," he said...

"It may be improbable that cyberspace can be seriously disrupted, that war in cyberspace can occur. But it can occur and the question is: what are we going to do about it now, before it happens," Clarke said. "I don't think the United States has to have a major disaster to deal with this. I hope we don't have to have a digital Pearl Harbor or a digital Exxon Valdez," Clarke said, referring to the massive Alaskan oil spill in 1989...

Clarke predicts the U.S. will suffer an unspecified cyber-catastrophe in the next few years. It will be a digital Pearl Harbor so large and so deadly that "the federal government needs a reconstitution plan" just to survive it.
Clarke gave a similar keynote speech in September at InfowarCon 2000. He insisted no terrorist group "is even trying" to build up its information warfare skills -- yet, true to form, Clarke predicted the U.S. will suffer an unspecified cyber-catastrophe in the next few years. It will be a digital Pearl Harbor so large and so deadly that "the federal government needs a reconstitution plan" just to survive it.
Who will destroy the U.S. by computer remains a mystery. What they'll do to the U.S. by computer also remains a mystery. Clarke has never offered a plausible scenario (at least not one involving computers). Rather, he engages in FUD and leaves it to our lurid imaginations to fill in the holes.

Don't get me wrong -- Clarke has a plausible scenario not involving computers. It begins with an enemy hydrogen bomb detonated high overhead to fry every motherboard in North America. Things go downhill from there.

"But Rob," you observe, "why does Clarke worry about computer security if no computers will be left? Why doesn't he tell us to worry more about hydrogen bombs blowing up over sovereign territory?"


THE ANSWER LIES in media exposure. Reporters embrace McCarthy-esque computer security fearmongers and shun McCarthy-esque nuclear fearmongers. Clarke screams about hackers & Trojans & viruses (oh my) because it gets his name in print.

Memo to Richard Clarke: December also marked the 46th anniversary of the Senate's censure against Joe McCarthy.
This guy needs media exposure more than you might think. You heard it here first -- Clarke wants to be the next CIA chief. His underlings started spreading rumors on Capitol Hill in an effort to secure his promotion.

Clarke will keep on screaming about computer security, and he'll continue spitting on the tragedy of Pearl Harbor, until he lands the coveted spook job ... or until he gets canned by the next president.

In case you didn't know it, December also marked the 46th anniversary of the Senate's censure against Joe McCarthy. It may be improbable that Clarke will get fired. But it can occur and the question is: what is he going to do about it now, before it happens?

http://www.vmyths.com/rant.cfm?id=271&page=4

[notyoueither]

Ouch.

[Giancarlo]

Originally posted by Agathon
Has anyone considered that it might be time to bury partisanship and vote for Kerry. I mean, even if you are a middle of the road Republican it would better to wait for four years to return to a more sensible sort of candidate, like Bush pere.

That's not realistic. Kerry is not a sensible politican nor is he bipartisan. He is nothing more than a mudslinging partisan who just looks to destroy America's intelligence networks and let terrorists flow into the country.

[Sava]

Originally posted by Giancarlo
I want something better then Ihatebush.org or some other crap like that. Something actually credible, and not made up horse crap.

Right... and I guess former Treasury Sec. Paul O'Neill and former Counter-Terror Czar Dick Clarke are leftists right?

they are both republicans...

it's amazing that moronic bush supporters are STILL denying the truth... it's really quite entertaining.

You know Fezzykins, you talk about how much you dislike religion, but yet, you show the same fanaticism for Bush and absence of critical thought that religionists display for their religions.

and that whole "myth/fact" thing was hilarious... it's amazing that Bushies will still state exactly what is opposite of the truth.

OUR PLANET ISN'T SPHERICAL, IT'S FLAT!

THE EARTH IS THE CENTER OF THE UNIVERSE!

BARRY BONDS ISN'T ON STEROIDS!



I used to get mad at the dopes (I am not going to call them conservatives or group them on the right anymore because I don't want to paint all conservatives with the dope brush, because as Imran proves, you can be conservative AND have a brain ), but now, I just point and laugh... much the same way I point and laugh at retarded children playing in traffic.

When I'm older, it will be nice to tell my kids about the Bush years. How we had this evil, corrupt, corporatist, dopey, shithead president who was a danger to America (both in terms of job security and national security), and his moronic supporters, who even in the face of undenial fact and proof, still proclaimed a blind, faithful supporter of their Dope in Chief.

Apolyton, while giving me many great hours of civilization chat, has also been the source of some of this undying hilarity that I will pass on to my children.

thank you Bush supporters... long after Bush is defeated in November, I'll be cherishing the memories.

anyways, I'm done with this thread... I've got nothing else to say. I'll still check in to see some more moronic pro-Bush responses for comic relief.

This is great because I don't even have to bash Bush anymore. The facts are coming out, and all I have to do is watch with great pleasure as four years of complete stupidity come to an end.

[Giancarlo]

Sava, are you on drugs? You are just nuts. I can't even make out what you are saying.. it is incoherent. And Bush getting defeated in november? in your dreams.

[The Mad Monk]

His politics don't matter -- it's clear he was looking in the wrong direction.

Sava, I know you like beating up on Giancarlo and all, but I suggest you read the two items I posted before you go and make an even bigger fool of yourself.

[DinoDoc]

He doesn't care, TMM. Just let him be and hope they don't spam the thread too much.

[MRT144]

trust the liars in the whitehouse or trust the liars that worked for the whitehouse...who has more to gain by lying?

[Agathon]

I don't get it. Clarke's overreaction about computer viruses at a time when most people didn't really understand these things is supposed to invalidate all his criticisms of the Bush administration despite the fact that he was a valued employee of various administrations for two decades?

[The Mad Monk]

His major criticism appears to have been that they weren't taking him seriously. Since he kept going on about cyberterrorism even after 9-11, I really can't find fault in that.

[Edan]

Why do I have a feeling of Deja Vu?

Oh yeah.

[rev]

The Bush administration is in a bind here: either Clarke is lying and they made terrorism their number one priority, as they claim they did, when they took office, or they turned a blind eye to terrorism in general and Clarke's telling the truth. The administration, via Dick Cheney, claims Clarke was 'out of the loop' on terrorism and doesn't know what he's talking about.

This administration's credibility on these claims, however, is lost to the fact that they downgraded Clarke's position from Cabinet-level and now claim that he, as the person responsible for reporting to Rice and Bush in regard to terrorism, was 'out of the loop'. That would represent a grand failure on the administration's part -- that's an interagency breakdown directly related to decisions made by upper-level administration officials.

Kerry is not a sensible politican nor is he bipartisan. He is nothing more than a mudslinging partisan who just looks to destroy America's intelligence networks and let terrorists flow into the country.

Are you referring to Kerry's Senate vote to lower funds dedicated to the intelligence services?

[notyoueither]

Who other than a secretary has ever been cabinet level? Isn't cabinet the President and all of the secretaries, maybe with the NSA advisor? That doesn't make any sense to me.

[rev]

IIRC, a Czar is cabinet-level, as well. Under Clinton, Clarke was the Terrorism Czar and could directly brief the President, just as the Drug Czar could brief the President, but doesn't answer to any specific advisor.

I'll look further into it to see if I can get a better explanation -- I'm just conjecturing in regard to your question.

[rev]

My source RE: Clarke's cabinet-level position is the Center for American Progress:

- The Administration is simultaneously claiming that it never downgraded counter-terrorism at the same time it is trying to discredit Richard Clarke by noting that the White House demoted his counterterrorism office from the Cabinet level position it occupied under the previous Administration.

Source: CNN

I don't quite understand how they got the Cabinet-level position information from that CNN article, but I'm much too lazy tonight to read the entire thing. I have, however, posed the question to several other web sites, so hopefully someone more knowledgeable than I can explain it better.

[notyoueither]

'Czar' is an official position within American government?

[The Mad Monk]

Counter-terrorism was taken over by the cabinet-level Department of Homeland Security, wasn't it?

[rev]

I'm not sure, but I would assume so. The DHS, however, didn't come into being until well after 9/11, and both the Bush administration and Tom Ridge initially opposed its creation.

[rev]

I did some research and basically there are three classifications of "cabinet-level". The first classification is that of actual cabinet members, known by the official title of "Secretary". The second is "cabinet-level", which are people who are not members of the cabinet (which has the power to remove the President from power), but are allowed to attend cabinet meetings. Lastly, there are White House staffers, such as Condoleeza Rice, who serves as NSA. They, too, are allowed to attend cabinet meetings, but I am not sure what the official, narrow distinction is between staffers and second-tier cabinet-level members. I suspect that White House staffers must be invited to attend cabinet meetings, whereas cabinet-level members are expected or required to be at them.

So, Bush took Clinton's cabinet-level position of counterterrorism and downgraded it to cabinet-level, then ignored requests to meet with that advisor (Clarke) in regard to al-Qaeda until the week before September 11th. Clarke and other related counterterrorism advisors had been meeting with the cabinet and Clinton weekly.

[SpencerH]

Whats wrong with this picture?

The counterterrorism Tzar, who had a cabinet level post, the man with the responsibility for dealing with groups like AQ, who held that position through 3 presidents, has the gall to slam anyone else for HIS failures to deal with AQ.